Long Term Care & Investment| May 22, 2014

Long Term Care & Investment| May 22, 2014

According to the US Health 2010 Survey, 7 out of 10 Americans over the age of 65 will need some type of Long Term Care (LTC) while a 2011 John Hancock survey says that the average cost of a semi private room in a nursing home in the US is $207for a single day – a fact that has been known to wipe out retirement assets.

This was the message Merrill Lynch along with their partners Fidelity Investments, John Hancock and Pacific Life shared with the attendees at the seminar on Long Term Care at Maggiano’s on May 22. The event was supported and organized by the Indo American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston (IACCGH).

Executive Director of IACCGH, Jagdip Ahluwalia stressed that the “message was too powerful to be confined to the room” and urged the gathering to tell their friends and family about the importance of planning early for LTC.

President Sanjay Ramabhadran outlined IACCGH’s mission and recalled an incident that proved the effectiveness of the kind of networking provided by the organization.

Sr. Financial Advisor of Merrill Lynch, Pradeep Gokhale also welcomed the gathering and promised that it “would be informative” while Financial Advisor, Amit Jain gave a brief overview of the services provided by Merrill Lynch.

Explaining the investment theme for 2014, Michael Malinek, Sr. VP of Fidelity Investments voiced his optimism about the stock market and noted that the US is “breaking out of the secular bear market to a secular bull market.” He also described this year as a “stock picker year” and encouraged investors to “not let go of the tail of the bull.”

Bob Kucea of John Hancock explained that the biggest benefit of planning for LTC is the choice and control it gives you when you need it most. He also stated that it’s a good idea to retire in Texas as it has one of the “lowest living costs.”

Ken McClintock, Regional VP of Retirement Solutions, Pacific Life encouraged the gathering to buy insurance when they are young and can qualify and called it a “beautiful tax strategy, an asset and lifesaver for the kids.”

At the end of the day, every decision starts with becoming an informed consumer and the workshop did lend a great deal of clarity on how one can protect retirement assets by planning for LTC.